Sakers are Champs

The Final score was 76-72 in favor of the LG Sakers of Korea, but the see-saw battle was intense since the game started to the delight of the mostly-Filipino crowd.

The final outcome was not decided until the last 5 seconds when Anthony Johnson failed to convert on a set play designed for him by the Realtors. The biggest lead in the ball game was 8 points, enjoyed by Sakers in the third quarter. However, Johnson and Nelbert Omolon conspired to bring that lead to a manageable 64-62 with seven minutes left in the fourth.

The game showed the contrasting style of the two teams. the Sakers relied on their three-point shooting while the Realtors pushed their set plays to stay on the game. The Sakers was able to sink 12 shots from the beyond the arc, which came mainly from Seung Min Kim and Park Jihyon. The Realtors can only manage to sink in three from that area.

The Sakers win broke the Filipinos dominance of the tournament, where the PBA All-Stars won it twice in a row.

Even if the Realtors had already beaten the Sakers in their elimination match-up, oddsmakers in Brunei gave the Koreans the edge mainly because of their two imports and their high-percentage from the three-point area. Also, the Realtors had to bucked the injuries on Johnson and Ryan Reyes. The physical and aggresive game against the Darwin All-Stars the day before also took its toll on the stamina of the Realtors. The Sakers, on the other hand, was never threatened in their semi-finals match against the Singapore Slingers.

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Realtors Gain Share of the Lead

The previously unbeaten LG Sakers of South Korea realized that the three-point area was under the control of the Sta. Lucia Realtors early in the first half and failed to make the necessary adjustment. The Sakers suffered their first setback in the tourney in a 75-66 loss to the Realtors.

The Realtors’ Paolo Mendoza and Anthony Johnson both had 5 field goals each from the three point range to finish with 17 and 35 points respectively and put the team closer to the semis. Johnson also finished with the game with 14 rebounds.

With the win, the realtors are tied with the Sakers and the Singapore Slingers with 2 wins and 1 loss. The Realtors can gain an outright slot in the knockout semis if they win against the Harbour Centre RP team.

The Realtors started strong and never looked back. The Sakers tried to make an early run in the second half and managed to trim the lead to just 8 points, but the Realtors just kept their composure and made some crucial plays. Mendoza easily found his range and continued pouring shots from the outside to diffuse the comeback.

Cho Sang Hyun, the top 3-point shooter of the Sakers, finished with only 4 points and never scored a single 3-point shot. The Realtors’s defense allowed the Sakers to only make 6 3-point field goals, while they made 11 from that area. The pesky defense of the Realtors also limited the production of the Sakers import players, Calvin Warner and Odartey Blankson. Both imports combined for 53 points against the Harbour Centre RP Team, but can only manage 16 points between them in the game.

Top scorers:

Sta Lucia Realtors: Anthony Johnson 35 points, Paolo Mendoza 17
LG Sakers: Lee Hyun Min 14 points, Calvin Warner 10 points, Park Jihyon 10 points.

UPDATE: Sta. Lucia Realtors won against Harbour Centre RP team, 79-71, in their game yesterday. The Realtors are now assured of a slot in the knockout semis.

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SLR Fell to the Darwin All-Stars' Onslaught

What was expected to be a preview of the finals turned out to be a lopsided and boring match-up in favor of the Darwin Airport Resort All-Stars. The Sta. Lucia Realtors can’t seem to find any answer against the trio of Tom Garlepp, Michael Jones and David Donaldson of the Darwin All-Stars as they absorb their first loss in two games. Despite the 24-point output of Anthony Johnson, no one from the Realtors was able to find their rhythm and they succumb to an 82-67 loss.

SLR Coach Boyet Fernandez tried to motivate the team in the first half by citing the non-calls of the referees to no avail. The Darwin All-Stars just proved to be a better team between the two as they excel in all facet of the game and established them as one of the early favorites in the tournament. Despite the first day loss to the LG Sakers, Darwin All-Stars Coach Don Sheppard was confident of their team’s chances and claimed that they are a better team than last year.

Darwin All-Stars Captain Marcus Ch'ng was influential in rallying the team and orchestrated their offense even as he scored 8 points. Zane Meehl had a quiet 7-game output, but Mike Jones was in superb form with a high percentage field goal as he finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.

The offense of the Realtors was so pathetic that they even scored 1 point in a 7-minute stretch. Everyone in the team seems to be relying mostly on Johnson to score as the defense of the Darwin All-Stars clamped on their transition game and half-court offense. At the end of the first half, the Realtors can only manage to score 23 points. At the start of the second half, the Darwin All-Stars applied more pressure on defense and reached their biggest lead in the ballgame at 21 points.

The Realtors were hoping to bounce back from this loss when they take on the LG Sakers on Tuesday.

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SLR Nips Slingers

Ryan Reyes scored crucial points and ends up with 14 markers

Even with the help of a former NBA player, the Singapore Slingers could not pull a win against a resilient Sta. Lucia Realty team to absorb its first loss in as many outings in the on-going 7th Brunei Cup. Rod Grizzard, a former Washington Wizards player, and the rest of the Slingers raced to an early 12-2 early in the first quarter, but Dennis Espino made a series of baskets to power SLR to a 22-13 lead at the end of the quarter. Reinforced by former Coca-Cola import, Anthony Johnson, who ended the quarter with a powerful dunk after missing his first, SLR held off repeated rallies for a 89-79 win.

In the second quarter, the Slingers tried to come back and even reduced the lead to just one at the end of the half mostly through the Mike Helms. However, the Slingers' MVP last season in the Australian National Basketball League did not get much support from his teammates.

It was a close battle in the third quarter as Nelbert Omolon and Anthony Johnson combined efforts to stave off Rod Grizzard’s unrelenting scoring and stifling defense. The score could have been leveled at 64-all, but John Fitzgerald failed to score off a Grizzard steal.

The fourth quarter was all Omolon-Johnson and Ryan Reyes show. Omolon and Johnson scored easily to lead all SLR with 22 and 18 points respectively, but it was Ryan Reyes who put the final nail as he converted all his four free throws, stole the ball and scored in the final minute when the Slingers where threatening to overcome a five point deficit at 83-78. The crowd was treated to an amazing display of intense defense from both squad that was highlighted by Omolon’s block on Benjamin Knight’s attempt. Knight eventually fouled out with three minutes still remaining and finished with 16 points.

Coach Boyet Fernandez attributed their win to their vastly improved defense and aggressiveness on the boards. He was actually surprised that they won, but he thinks their biggest test will come today at 3:30 when they meet the Darwin Airport Resort All-Stars. Even they lost in the first game against LG Sakers with a score of 75-65, the Darwin Airport Resort All-Stars remain this tournament’s favorites after finishing as runner-ups last year.

Top scorers:

Sta. Lucia Realtors: Anthony Johnson 22 points, Nelbert Omolon 18 points, Ryan Reyes 14 points
Singapore Slingers: Rod Grizzard 16 points, Ben Knight 16 points, Mike Helms 13 points

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SLR Takes On Slingers

The first game is just hours away and all the Coaches believe it is anybody's game. However, all Coaches also think that by the end of this week, they will be able to predict who has great chances of reaching the finals of this tournament. Everyone agrees with the Coaches assessment and expect some explosive encounters among the competitors starting tonight.

1st game: Darwin Airport Resort All-Stars vs LG Sakers (7pm Brunei time)
2nd game: Singapore Slingers vs Sta. Lucia Realtors (9pm Brunei time)

There won't be any live coverage due to the unavailability of Wi-Fi connection at the Indoor Stadium. However, tournament organizers assured the public that live coverage will be available by Monday, 27th August on bruneicup.com and ranaodidas.com.

Listeners of Pilihan FM (95.9 FM), a local radio station, can win Brunei Cup tickets from the show, but the details are still sketchy. The radio quiz is only eligible to the locals and foreigners residing in Brunei Darussalam.

The question being asked by many Sta. Lucia Realtors fans is if their team can reach the finals? If SLR wants to defend the title of the Philippine All-Stars, they have to take their first game seriously.

The team is up against the Singapore Slingers with their MVP Mike Helms, a player to watch. Helms is sporting a sleeker version this year in line with the aggressive and athletic nature of this years team. He's nicknamed "Hair Raising" because of his athleticism and afro hairdo.

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Realtors Arrive in Brunei

Sta. Lucia Realtors arrived in Brunei last 23 August 2007 to compete in the 7th Brunei Cup Basketball Championship. The team will be reinforced by former Coca-Cola import Anthony Johnson.

Johnson, who led Kansas Cagerz to capture the 2007 USBL championship with an amazing average of 16.4ppg, 5.9rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 50.3%, 3FGP: 35.7%, FT: 77.0%, boosts more the chances of the team.

This event will also be a chance to test how the two rookies, Ryan Reyes and Melvin Mamaclay, will adjust to the team’s run-and-gun system under Coach Boyet Fernandez. The Realtors also signed free agent Philip Buttel to complete its roster.


Philippine national team standout Kelly Williams (196-F-82, college: Oakland) was reported to be out of the competition to allow his recovery from a minor injury. Team insiders revealed that Williams was hurting even during the last FIBA Asian Championship in Japan, but still played to boost RP Team’s chances to get a slot in the Olympics. Unfortunately, the RP squad failed in their mission.

Despite Williams’ absence, it is expected that veterans and former national team members Marlou Aquino and Dennis Espino, together with the much improved Bitoy Omolon, will be providing additional firepower to the team.

Realtors can probably match up well against any teams in the tournament with Aquino, Espino, Omolon, Johnson and Reyes in the starting line-up.

Other participating teams are RP Harbour Centre National Team, Darwin Airport Resort All-Star, Jordan All-Star, Singapore Slingers and LG Sakers.

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7th Brunei Cup Official Schedule

Here is the updated schedule for the 7th Brunei Cup. Tournament officials would like to inform everyone that this schedule may still change due to factors beyond the control of the organizers. Please be guided accordingly.

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